Bryant quits Invest Toronto after cyclist death

Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant announced his resignation as CEO of Invest Toronto on Wednesday, a day after criminalcharges werelaid against him in the death of a bicycle courier.

On Tuesday, Bryant was chargedwith criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death afteran alleged confrontation withDarcy Allan Sheppard on Monday night.

Sheppard, 33, died of head injuriesafter a cardragged him along a stretch of Toronto's Bloor Street.

As he offered his resignation Wednesday, Bryant said in a prepared statementhe's not guiltyof the accusations against him.

"Let me be clear: I am innocent of the very serious accusations made against me," Bryant said in a lettertoMayor David Miller.

"I do not believe, however, that I can continue in this position on account of the circumstances of the past two days."

Bryant wasappointed last May to head Invest Toronto, the city's new business development agency tasked with promoting the city to investors.

Miller issued his own statement a short time later,saying he accepts Bryant's resignation. He also called the events ofMondaynight "tragic and sad on many levels."

Police say Sheppard grabbed on toBryant's car following analtercation. Witnesses say Bryant drove away with Sheppard hanging on to the side of the vehicle. The cyclist, who was on foot when he took hold of the car, then fell and suffered fatal injuries.

The convertiblewas later photographed parked nearby with its top down.

Sheppard's girlfriend says he was drinking the night he died. Police have said they responded to a call about Sheppard at the woman's apartment barely an hour before his death.